


follow you, follow me

by eloboosting



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, all an excuse to set up duke/bengi accidentally married in las vegas, lol jk I'm just spectacularly tilted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 12:38:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8714245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eloboosting/pseuds/eloboosting
Summary: “I’m thinking of leaving,” he says, offhand, almost absentmindedly.

  Hoseong doesn’t skip a beat, looks up from his phone with a raised eyebrow. “Okay,” he says. “Where are we going?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of feelings about bengi leaving, about how the rest of the team would react/how it affects his relationships with all of them
> 
> but all I managed to write is this.

“I’m thinking of leaving,” he says, offhand, almost absentmindedly.

Hoseong doesn’t skip a beat, looks up from his phone with a raised eyebrow. “Okay,” he says. “Where are we going?”

-

Seongwoong has been thinking retiring for years now, since all the way back in 2014 when the only person who thought he was good enough to keep playing was Coach Junggyun.

He hadn’t even looked up when Seongwoong had pulled him aside to talk, continued flipping through his notebook and scribbling notes on random pages.

“It’s been fun,” he’d started, trying to sound truthful, like he hadn’t just read the last Inven post ripping apart his performance play-by-play. “But I’m getting older, and I need to start thinking about military service—”

“One more year,” Coach Junggyun had said, quiet but firm. There were dark circles under his eyes, tension in his shoulders, and Seongwoong had nodded and walked away.

He hadn’t known at the time that Eonyeong and Gwangjin had both turned in their resignations already, not until they’d packed up their things and moved out of the house a few weeks later.

Seongwoong had stayed because Coach Junggyun had asked, but they’d still honored his request to add a substitute jungler to the team. Jaehyeon didn’t even see play until the end of the split, but they’d practiced with him in scrims, slowly integrated him into the team until they finally tagged him in during playoffs.

And it went well, until their almost-disastrous semifinal against CJ, when he’d been put back in for the reverse sweep. They won spring, won summer, went off to Worlds with high spirits. There was still energy in him yet, still enough excitement at the idea of League to lift up all the trophies they earned.

“Two-time world champions,” the announcers had said, but only Sanghyeok had been invited to stay on stage to be interviewed.

That hadn’t been anything new, though—standing in Sanghyeok, no, _Faker’s_ shadow had faded to a gentle ache in his stomach by now. No matter what names the fans had clambered to throw at him after their resurgence in 2015, “The Jungle Itself,” “The Dark Flame Master,” all trying to change what used to be insults and curses in 2014 to teasing fondness now. The Jungle Itself, because his presence on the map was invisible, because he became another resource for the enemy to farm. The Dark Flame Master, because he couldn't carry, had sealed his hand away to unlock later. But the ones that stick out the most are those connecting him to Sanghyeok, "The Right Hand of God," "Faker's Third Summoning Spell."

Seongwoong started League in the shadow of Faker and he would probably end it in that exact same place. That wasn’t a thought that bothered Seongwoong anymore, just a reality he’d come to accept.

-

The start of 2016 saw four members gone, and Seongwoong had been aiming to be the fifth.

“Just one more year,” Junggyun had wheedled, and it hadn’t seemed right to leave the team that had raised him from rookie to World Champion scrambling to find a replacement jungler as well as top.

“Only one more,” he’d warned, and Junggyun had nodded at him, patted him on the back.

“Of course,” he’d said easily.

They’d found another substitute jungler who turned into their main jungler, leaving Seongwoong at home for IEM and MSI, easily winning the spring playoffs without him. It had felt a little weird to be benched like this, to spend so many games sitting by Junggyun and Jeonghyun watching instead of playing. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad feeling—although he did feel useless, enjoyed his time on the stage—it was also nice to be free of the pressure and anxiety that accompanied his matches. Seongwoong didn't mind sharing the space beneath Faker's shadow, would have happily handed off his place to another jungler, especially to Sungu, a sweet kid, happy and enthusiastic and always willing to work harder and learn more.

But Sungu didn’t ever really mesh with exactly what the team needed, had stumbled over himself in summer and ended up dragging Seongwoong right back in time for Worlds.

They had won once again, had relied on Seongwoong to carry them through once again. They were both three-time world champions, but Sanghyeok had been the one who stayed on stage again. But walking back to their practice room with Hoseong’s arm slung across his shoulders—that had been fine.

- 

And in the end, that’s the thing. Leaving has been something at the forefront of Seongwoong’s mind for years—it’s not a new, radical idea, more a fond thought that curls through his brain every so often when he’s drifting off to sleep.

What would it be like to stop playing League?  
Would he finally understand what free time feels like?  
Would he finally be able to pursue hobbies out of fun instead of obligation?  
Could he have friends outside of the game again?

“Where are we going?” Hoseong asks, and Seongwoong’s immediately struck by that one, simple word.

 _We_.

“ _You_ ’ _re_ staying,” he says. “You said it yourself last year—you wanted to join a team that could win.”

Hoseong shrugs. “And we did. We won.”

“Then why not stay and win some more?” He waves an arm wildly in the air. “What if I’m retiring?”

Hoseong stares steadily back at him. “Vacation, then—I hear Japan is pretty nice this time of year.”

Seongwoong frowns. “You’re not sacrificing your career to follow some washed up player like me.”

Hoseong grabs one of his hands, cradles it between his own. “You’re not washed up.” He brings it up to kiss the palm, and Seongwoong can’t help the blush that floods his cheeks. “I would throw away much more if it meant I could stay with you.”

“You’re an idiot.” Seongwoong can’t snatch his hand away, not when Hoseong is smiling so fondly at him. “I’m sick of this game.”

“That’s fine,” Hoseong replies. “Whatever you want.”

- 

There’s no other way to bring it up than to be direct about it, and Seongwoong has never been all that suave.

“You said one more year.” He crosses his arms, and hopes he’s strong enough to keep his resolve this time. “That’s done.”

Junggyun looks up from his desk, eyes him speculatively from five feet away. “It is.”

“I’m leaving.”

Junggyun sighs. “You persuaded Junsik and Jaewan to stay.” He covers his face with a hand. “What if they’d left, like they were thinking?”

He’s known Junggyun for over four years—sees him more than any of his friends, any of his family—trusted him to raise him and bring him to the top of the League world. He won’t lie to him. “I would’ve stayed.”

Junggyun doesn’t say anything in reply for a moment, and Seongwoong can’t even see his expression, not with his hand covering his face. “You’re a good person, Seongwoong,” he finally says. “I’ve kept you here against your will for long enough.”

“Never against my will,” he protests, “But—”

“Have you told the others?” Junggyun interrupts, lifts his hand away to watch Seongwoong shake his head. “Be gentle.”

Is there any gentle way for Seongwoong to explain to his little brothers why he’s leaving?

Probably not.

He nods, and Junggyun calls out to him just as he's about to slip out of the room. “Let me know if I can help you in any way.”

- 

“Let’s play abroad,” he says.

Hoseong looks over at him curiously. “I thought you wanted to retire.”

If Seongwoong had been leaving on his own—yeah, he’d happily retire and enlist in his military service. But he refuses to bring Hoseong down with him, not if he’s so adamant in following Seongwoong. “Isn’t it basically the same thing?” he asks, and Hoseong laughs. “America's nice and warm.”

Hoseong doesn’t skip a beat. “Then let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> I literally wrote the first two lines of this fic and just couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the day.
> 
> anyway, if Duke & Bengi actually end up on IMT, I'm probably going to end up flying to LA every other week to watch them and cry. otherwise, I'm just really fucking tilted.
> 
> edit 12/1/16, lol bengi's goodbye just got posted and fml some more


End file.
